VISTA – A Camp Pendleton Marine who admitted to beating his 11-year-old son with a belt over a bad report card was sentenced in Superior Court to three years' probation and ordered to continue counseling.

Judge K. Michael Kirkman called Michael Anthony Walker's behavior an “aberration,” noting that he had never been arrested before. The judge advised Walker to remember that his son is not a fellow grunt.

“You can't discipline your child like a Marine can expect to be disciplined,” Kirkman said. “This needs to be a one-time event.”

Walker, 30, was originally charged with felony child abuse for the May 8 assault at a Vista apartment. In a plea agreement, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of assault and resisting the sheriff's deputies who used pepper spray to bring him under control.

Prosecutor Steven Carver told the judge he agreed to the deal because Walker quickly took responsibility for his actions by seeking out counseling on his own.

But he also said the case was much more serious than a spanking that went too far.

“It is not what people would picture as disciplining a child over grades,” Carver said. “This is what I would call . . . an assault on a child.”

Walker was talking to his son about school when they went into the son's room to talk in private, according to court records.

The dirty room angered the Marine, and when he saw the bad report card pinned on a bulletin board he told his son, “You must think I am weak because I don't spank you,” according to court records.

The boy told court officials he was beaten about 20 times with a belt, including the buckle, and suffered injuries to his head, back and legs.

The boy's mother was pushed aside by Walker when she intervened and then called sheriff's deputies, who arrested Walker, according to the records.

Walker, who enlisted in 2004, told court officials he is remorseful. He admitted his actions were excessive but said he did not intend to hurt the boy.

“(Walker) explained that he wants his son to take school seriously and achieve more than he has,” according to a report written by court officials. “(Walker) does not want his family to feel in fear of him, therefore he is trying to get his priorities 'back on track.' ”

The family is participating in group therapy sessions. Walker, who has lived on the base following his arrest, hopes to convince another judge to lift a protective order that bars him from living with his son.